Review of All This and World War II (1976) by Stuart K — 07 Feb 2013

The brainchild of executive producer Russ Regan, who claims to have dreamt this insane idea up, a freeform documentary that juxtaposes covers of Beatles songs with old film footage of World War 2. It was originally to have been directed by Tony Palmer (200 Motels (1971), but Regan sacked him, and Palmer was replaced by his research assistant Susan Winslow.

It has to be seen to be believed. Combining war newsreel footage and war films produced by 20th Century Fox, this follows the timeline of the war from it's beginnings in 1939, with everyone going off to war with Ambrosia singing Magical Mystery Tour, Neville Chamberlain's Peace in Our Time speech overlaid with Peter Gabriel singing Strawberry Fields Forever.

As war progresses, we see Hitler alone in his mountain retreat to Helen Reddy's cover of The Fool on the Hill, the Japanese joining the war done to Tina Turner belting out Come Together, and Mussolini in Italy done to Nowhere Man by Jeff Lynne.

Then the war comes to crashing climax with troops retreating to Rod Stewart singing Get Back. The list is endless, it proves once and for all that most film producers were on drugs at the time, as no-one in their right mind would come up with something like this.

The soundtrack is good though, and that's it's one big saving grace, but the idea as a whole fails to grab your attention.